GWEEP!

A Picture of Dorien Adhere

With a heavy sigh, Adherennium drew the curtains, shutting out the bright sunshine outside. The room looked unnatural with the desk lamp competing uneasily with the muffled illumination that seeped sickly through the fabric of the curtains. He sighed again, some things required darkness, and this was definitely one of them.

Rummaging in the desk drawer he located the key and it's useful 'tail' of bright red cord. It felt cold in his hand as he strode across the room towards the door, determined to get it over with. With scarely a tremble he thrust the key into the lock and turned. Then he paused. Perhaps he shouldn't look. Perhaps he should leave it a day or two, and ease off the Newsfeed posts for a while.

Shaking his head, as if to clear away the dissenting thoughts, Adherennium opened the door and flicked on the bright led lights. The room had no windows, and was quite small, probably intended as a walk in wardrobe or similar, but it was quite large enough to hold the easel. As always it was covered in a heavy piece of brown canvas, and stood directly under the main light. Adherennium had had extra lights fitted in here, he couldn't imagine looking at what lay under that canvas in anything less.

Now his hands really were shaking. Fumbling, and muttering wordless prayers under his breath he slowly lifted the cover. On the easel rested a portrait that had once been his own face, but it was not so now. Over the frame black velvet was stretched taut. He stared in horror at the thick white cheeks and wrinkled high forehead, the ugly slash of brilliant red, gaudy and somehow obscene about his mouth, the wild tufts of burgundy hair swept out like the wings of some dead bird behind each ear. Then there was the nose, somehow it contrived to look three dimensional, a sphere of unimaginable comedic absence. With a cry of anguish he covered the painting with it's cloth. The image of it was behind his eyes, he saw the clown he was becoming with every posting.... Gweep!

RALPH: Wow Graham, that was brilliant.

TOBY: You're a dark horse and no mistake.